<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Silena's Birthday Party by Wisegirl4302</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25674628">Silena's Birthday Party</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wisegirl4302/pseuds/Wisegirl4302'>Wisegirl4302</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alive Silena Beauregard, F/M, Fanfiction, Friendship, Party, Percabeth AU, between TBoL and TLO, percabeth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:00:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25674628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wisegirl4302/pseuds/Wisegirl4302</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Silena's Birthday party! So bring your party hat and watch out for the awkwardness as Percy and Annabeth hang out after nine months of not speaking to each other. Set between TBoL and TLO. (There will be Percabeth)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Iris Message</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>My evening had been perfectly normal right until the iris message popped up. I was lounging on the couch, watching Animal Planet with one of my close friends, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. We hang out a lot and now that school’s out and my 16th birthday is inching closer, I find myself always calling her up, just in need of company. </p><p>So anyways, I was laughing at the TV, where they were showing a special on Great White Sharks. Coincidentally, I had actually met some of these sharks before (long story) and they weren’t nearly as scary as they were being depicted on the show. Not for a son of Poseidon atleast. I pointed this out to Rachel, who was sketching on her drawing pad. She had her pad tilted to the side, so I couldn’t quite make out what she was drawing.</p><p>“I don’t care how friendly they are with you; I still wouldn’t want to be anywhere near them. Besides, not everyone is as powerful as a son of Poseidon.” She said, bumping my shoulder. I blushed a little, not used to getting compliments, especially from girls. She thankfully hadn’t noticed, going back to drawing on her pad.</p><p>“What are you sketching?” I asked after a while. The special was getting boring since I already knew most of the facts they were telling about the shark.</p><p>Rachel shifted a bit, so that she was sitting a little closer to me than she had before. She tucked her pad against her chest, so I still couldn’t see the image on it. I tried not to get distracted by her fiery red hair, which was lightly brushing my arm. Or the fact that her face was only a few inches away from mine, and I could see her cute freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. Instead, I focused on what she was saying.</p><p>“I got the inspiration for this from a dream. I don’t know why, but I keep getting really vivid dreams and some of the images stay in my head for weeks, until I don’t finally concentrate on it and ultimately draw it.” She shook her head, clearly exasperated.</p><p>“Can I see it?” I asked, slightly nervous. Rachel’s drawings were so good and life-like that they tended to creep me out. It was almost as if she could see the future or something.</p><p>I braced myself as Rachel flipped over her pad, revealing a sketch of a Pegasus on the hood of a car. I leaned forward even more, staring at the drawing. It looked like Blackjack, a Pegasus I had saved from The Princess Andromeda two years ago. Rachel had met Blackjack for maybe five minutes last year, but I doubted she had observed at it long enough to know so many details about it. She had definitely envisioned it in a dream. </p><p>Since I am a demigod, I tend to get really scary dreams that unfortunately come true. Considering Rachel is a mortal, I hoped she didn’t have the same problem as I did.</p><p>I squinted at the horse, pointing at its back where Rachel had drawn a dark shadow, almost as if someone were sitting on it. “Is that a person?”</p><p>Rachel looked at where I was pointing and shrugged. “Beats me. I just saw this in a dream the other night and, like I said, couldn’t get it out of my mind.” She frowned, studying her drawing for a moment. “But it does sort of look like someone’s sitting on it, right?”</p><p>She gazed up at me, our faces really close. I could see the small flecks of yellow in her grass green eyes. I’m not sure what I was going to say but all of a sudden, I heard a cough. Rachel and I sprung apart, Rachel dropping her sketch pad in the process. </p><p>I looked up, expecting my mom to be home from work and standing there with her hands on her hips, giving me a look. Instead, I found an iris message shimmering in front of the TV, revealing a dark haired girl staring at me, her pretty face morphed into a disappointed expression. It was Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite.</p><p>By then, Rachel had noticed too. She wordlessly collected her pens and pad, slipping them into her backpack. “I should probably get going.” She said, turning to face me.</p><p> I gave her a soft smile. “Thanks for sharing the sketch with me. It was awesome, as always.” She returned the smile. “Anytime.” She said softly, before getting up and swiftly leaving the room, shooting me a quick ‘bye’ before disappearing behind the front door.</p><p>I turned back to Silena, who had started to file her nails. “Hey Silena. What’s up?”</p><p>I wasn’t exactly sure why she had called me. We were friends, but not the kind to contact each other outside of camp. Besides, she was better friends with…</p><p>And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Something must have happened at camp. Or worse, to Annabeth! I could feel my hands begin to shake. I couldn’t stand it if anything had happened to her. I couldn’t lose her. She was my best friend. She was…</p><p>I started talking before Silena could even open her mouth. “Is everything ok at camp? Did something happen to Annabeth? Is she hurt?” I started rambling, watching Silena’s face go from bored to amused within seconds. </p><p>“Annabeth is fine, Percy. But after what I just saw, you can never be too sure.” She made a tsk-tsk sound, making my face heat up. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel relieved. Annabeth was alright. I had nothing to worry about.</p><p>“So, not to sound rude or anything, but why did you IM me?” I asked awkwardly. The only other girl who had ever IM’ed me was Annabeth and since last summer, that had become a rare occurrence. We hadn’t really stayed in contact and I figured I was partly to blame.</p><p> To my surprise, Silena just laughed. “Straight to the point. I like it.” She winked at me, before continuing. “Anyways, my birthday is coming up this weekend and I’m throwing a party. It’s going to be at my dad’s lake house-“</p><p>I started to protest that it wouldn’t be safe for demigods to be outside of camp, that her party would become like a monster magnet, when she cut me off. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ve already discussed this with my mom and she decided to help me out. She’ll be putting up a force field around the house and part of the lake, that way no monster can detect our smell and come near us. Besides, monster attacks have really dwindled over the past couple of weeks. But, I’m sure you know all about that.”</p><p>I actually didn’t. I stopped asking for updates on the war a long time ago. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. “Yeah, I do. So, this party is going to be monster proof?”</p><p>“Yep.” She smiled at him. “So, you’ll come?”</p><p>I had to admit, the party sounded like fun. A lake house, not to mention the added security. Plus, it would be cool to hang out with my friends from camp, outside of camp for a change. “Who all are invited?”</p><p>“I’ve made a list. Hold on.” She grabbed a piece of paper off her bed and started rattling off names. “Charlie, Clarisse, Chris, the Stolls, Lucy, Grover, Katie, Juniper, Will, Malcolm…” She paused for a second, looking up from her list and smiling mischievously at me. “Of course, Annabeth will be there too.”</p><p>I hadn’t realized until then that I had been waiting for her name to be taken, and when she hadn’t mentioned it, I almost panicked, thinking she wouldn’t be going. I pretended like this bit of information hadn’t made my insides mushy and my brain squeal. “Yeah, ok. I’ll come.”</p><p>Silena grinned at me, flashing her pearly white teeth. “Yay. So, you’re going to have to bring your swim suit, your pajamas and a sleeping bag. I’ll text you the address later.”</p><p>I looked at her questioningly. Silena hadn’t mentioned the party was going to be a sleepover. She seemed to notice my expression because she said, “It’s going to be kind of like a slumber party. If you want, I can talk to your mom, just convince her that-“</p><p>“No no, that’s fine. I’ll tell her and don’t worry. I’ll be there.” Silena’s smile returned to her face.</p><p>“Okay then. Well, I should get going then. Still have a few more people to IM. Good night Percy.” And with that, she swiped her hand through the iris message, her image fading. </p><p>I stared at the spot where Silena had just been. My stomach was a bundle of nerves and it took me a minute to decipher why. They had been like that since Silena had mentioned Annabeth would be at the party. For some reason, the prospect of seeing her made me want to jump up and down and throw up, at the same time, which was pretty weird if you thought about it. </p><p>I checked the calendar, noting there were still three days until Saturday. I had a feeling my mom would let me go. She knew how stressed out I was over the impending war and a party like this might just be what I needed.</p><p>I walked over to the kitchen, helping myself to my mom’s blue chocolate-chip cookies. I couldn’t help but imagine what could possibly happen at the party. We’d probably go swimming, maybe stay up late and watch a movie. Maybe we’d play some party games. An image of Annabeth and I cuddling came into my mind, but I dismissed it just as quickly as it came. None the less, the idea still made my heart beat faster.</p><p>Oh yeah, I couldn’t wait for Saturday.</p><p> </p><p>Thanks for reading. If you liked it and would like for me to continue writing this story, please comment.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Awkward Reunions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“You packed your swimming trucks right?” My mom asked for maybe the tenth time since we had stepped into the car. </p><p>“Yes Mom. And my pajamas, sleeping bag and Silena’s birthday present.” I added hastily, before she could start questioning me about those too. I waved the backpack I was carrying with me at her, just to reassure her that I had brought everything I needed. She heaved a sigh, sending me a warm smile before going back to staring at the road, her hands gripping the steering wheel.</p><p>Don’t get me wrong, I loved my mom more than probably anyone in the world, but when she got nervous, she tended to either blabber or go into full panic mode. Two years ago, she had almost talked nonstop, telling Thalia and Annabeth every embarrassing baby story I ever had before we went on a mission. After that, I had stopped relying on my mom for transportation regardless of how grim or urgent the situation was. </p><p>“Mom, why are you freaking out so much? It’s not like anything bad can happen at this party. It’s a monster free zone remember?” </p><p>I expected my mom to start worrying again, but when she glanced at me, she looked more sad than worried. “It’s nothing Percy. I… I just want you to have a really good time, okay? Don’t worry about the prophecy, monsters or your relationship with some of your friends.” She gave me a pointed look, leaving me bewildered. Once again, I was clueless.  “Just enjoy being with them. It might be the last time before, you know.”</p><p>‘The war’ I thought bitterly. I didn’t want to think about it, so I pushed all thoughts away, just like my mom had told me too. Instead, I focused on the GPS, telling us we were now only eleven minutes away from our destination.</p><p>“Are you excited to meet all your friends?” My mom asked me after a few minutes of silence.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m stoked. I haven’t seen some of them for over nine months. It’ll be great to get to catch up with everyone.”</p><p>My mom glanced over at me. “What about Annabeth?”</p><p>I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, “What about her?” </p><p>Mom just rolled her eyes. “She’ll be there too.” She said it like a statement, making me wonder what she was trying to imply.</p><p>“I know that.” I said a bit too aggressively.</p><p>“Just making sure.” Mom winked at me before going back to humming a song.</p><p>’ Yeah, okay’ I thought. Leave it to my mom for making things awkward. It’s not like I had forgotten Annabeth would be at the party. After all, a large part of me was exhilarated for the sole reason that I would get to see Annabeth. Unfortunately, there was another part of me that was anxious over what might happen between us. I hadn’t realized, but most of last summer I had felt that way around her, which totally sucked. I had already promised myself that I wouldn’t fight with her at the party. The last thing I wanted was for Silena’s party to get ruined by Annabeth and me trying to strangle each other.</p><p>I thought about Annabeth and what I would say to her for the rest of the car ride to the lake house. Once we finally arrived, I still hadn’t decided completely on what I would say to her, so I decided I’d just wing it.</p><p>“Percy, do you want me to come with you inside-?” My mom asked, as I exited the car, taking my backpack and Silena’s gift with me. She was peering outside the window, staring at the lake and the large cabins built around it.</p><p>“Mom, its fine. I’m turning sixteen in two months. I think I can handle walking to the door on my own.” I walked over to the window and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Bye!”</p><p>She gave me one last smile before putting the car in reverse. “Bye Percy. Have fun!” And then she was gone.</p><p>I walked down the sidewalk, taking in the amazing scent that always lingered around lakes. The lake was gorgeous; I so couldn’t wait to go swimming in it later.</p><p>I continued down the pavement until I stumbled upon a cabin that had balloons tied to the railing on the front porch. There was a huge sign on top of the door that read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILENA!”</p><p>I entered the living room and was immediately overwhelmed by the number of people in the room. Apparently, I was the last one to arrive.</p><p>Grover spotted me first. “Peerrrrccyyyyy” He cried, pushing past people to get to me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me into a hug.</p><p>“Hey G-Man.” I said, after he finally pulled away from me. He looked taller since the last time I’d seen him, his horns now in full view. </p><p>“Hey guys, Percy finally showed up!” A voice came from behind us. I turned to find Silena and Beckendorf, dressed in their swim suits, strolling over to us.</p><p>“Happy Birthday Silena.” I handed her my gift, which was a scented candle (I couldn’t think of anything else), which she took with great enthusiasm. I nodded at Beckendorf, who was grinning at me.</p><p>“Thanks Percy. It’s great to see you again. We were all just about to go swimming, so if you want to join us, you’re going to have to go change.” Silena gestured towards the door I’d just come in from. </p><p>“Yeah sure, sounds awesome.”</p><p>“Okay, so there are rooms upstairs.” She pointed to the other side of the living room, where there was a spiral staircase at the back.”Grover, you coming?” Grover had stopped paying attention, instead staring at Juniper who was talking to Malcolm across the room.</p><p>“Ughh.. What?” He asked blankly. Silena rolled her eyes and laughed, taking Beckendorf’s hand and pulling him out of the house. </p><p>I started walking deeper into the cabin, greeting my friends along the way. Clarisse was beating up a son of Apollo; Connor Stoll had already managed to cause trouble: putting mentos into a coke bottle causing it to spray everywhere. Travis was shamelessly flirting with Katie, who looked irritated even though everyone knew she secretly loved the attention. Yep, it was just like camp, except we weren’t at camp. That’s what made it so awesome.</p><p>I walked up the stairs, finding the second floor much more peaceful than the first had been. I was walking past a room when I noticed a girl. She was sitting on the floor, her back to me, rummaging through her bag. Her long, curled blonde hair was down for a change, reaching almost mid-back. I didn’t have to see her face to know who it was; I’d recognize her hair anywhere.</p><p>“Annabeth?” I called out, watching as she jumped, whirling around to face me. She was wearing a white, knee length lace dress. I didn’t even know she owned dresses, let alone wore them. She looked so beautiful; I forgot how to speak for a minute. My tongue was literally tied.</p><p>“Percy.” She said standing up, taking me in. I suddenly felt underdressed, wearing normal jeans and a random shirt I liked. She walked over to me, until we were only a few feet away from each other. The look in her eyes reminded me of a different time, when we were in Mount Saint Helens and she kissed me. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted her to do it again.</p><p>She bit her lip, staring up at me. “I didn’t know you were coming today.” She said finally.</p><p>I frowned. “Didn’t Silena tell you I’d be here?” I had made it pretty clear to her that I would be coming.</p><p>She shook her head, her gorgeous curls framing her face. “She told me you were busy.”</p><p>“That’s weird.” I said.</p><p>“Yeah, it is.” She said awkwardly, her fingers tugging at the hem of her dress. </p><p>“So, how have you been?” I asked as a desperate attempt to make conversation.</p><p>“I’m good. I spent the school year with my dad in San Francisco and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I got back to camp maybe a month ago. What about you? What have you been upto?”</p><p>“Not much. I usually go skateboarding or hang out with Rachel.” As soon as I said Rachel’s name, I regretted it. What possessed me to say her name? Annabeth looked like she had swallowed a bad shrimp. Her eyes hardened and she crossed her arms over her chest.</p><p>“Oh. How is your mortal friend?” She emphasized the word ‘mortal’.</p><p>I scratched the back of my head, something I usually did when I was nervous. This conversation was NOT going the way I had wanted it to. “She’s doing great, but I really wouldn’t know. We don’t spend that much time together.” That was my pathetic attempt to cover up my mistake. I only prayed Annabeth would buy it.</p><p>Annabeth stared at me like I was an idiot (which I was), but she also looked slightly pleased with my answer.  Which was good for me, or else I was scared she’d kill me.</p><p>“So are you going swimming?” I asked, trying to change the subject and break the strange silence that had settled over us.</p><p>She pointed to her bag behind us. “Yeah, I was just getting changed.”</p><p>“Okay, cool.” I just stood there like a moron, waiting for her to say something. She just rolled her eyes at me.</p><p>“Seaweed Brain, I’m going to need you to vacate the room so I can change.” Her voice was slightly teasing and it reminded me of how we used to be like, before everything between us became weird and complicated.</p><p>“Okay. Ugh, I’ll see you down at the lake.” I started walking backwards towards the door, watching Annabeth as she resumed going through her bag, grabbing her swimsuit. I closed the door behind me and headed into an empty room to get changed. The entire time, I couldn’t help but think there was something off about Annabeth. She was acting different around me, more guarded as if she was crosschecking every word before she spoke. Still, she had called me Seaweed Brain; that had to count for something, right?</p><p>XXXXXXX</p><p>I wandered over to the lake, noticing that most of my friends were already swimming, splashing and dunking each other. Oh man, I couldn’t wait to dive in. I was rubbing my hands together, preparing to jump in when I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over, watching as the girl dipped a toe into the water and immediately retreated. I walked over to her, trying hard not to get too flustered over her grey bikini.</p><p>“Hey Wise Girl. What’s wrong? Scared of getting a little wet?” Okay that sounded so ridiculous, I immediately wished I could take it back. She glared up at me whilst remaking her ponytail. </p><p>“No! I was just checking the temperature. I don’t want my body to go into shock if the water is too cold.” She exclaimed. I hated how even her lies sounded believable.</p><p>“So, how is it? Think your body can handle it?” I teased her, noticing her face slightly redden. </p><p>“Yeah, the water’s fine.” She readjusted her ponytail before letting her arms flop down to her side.</p><p>“Great. So let’s go!” I started walking over to the docks when I noticed Annabeth still looked hesitant.  I’d seen Annabeth swim at camp probably a million times before so I knew she could. I wondered what her problem was. So I did the only thing I could think of: I grabbed her hand and dragged her along with me to the docks, her protesting all the way. Once we made it, I turned to face her.</p><p>“Are you going to jump in or am I going to have to push you?” I joked. She stuck her tongue out at me, causing me to laugh. She put her hands on her hips and was probably going to yell at me when Clarisse spotted us from the water.</p><p>“Would you two stop flirting and get your butts in the water! We’re about to start with a game.” Annabeth and I glanced at each other. Her face was bright red and mine probably was too. At the same time, almost as if it were planned, we dove into the water. And it was pretty much the best water war I’d ever played.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading. If you like the story so far, drop a comment. i love reading everyone's feedback. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Truth or Dare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annabeth’s POV</p><p>To be completely honest, I was flabbergasted. When Silena had first come up to me, telling me about her party, I had been doubtful. I didn’t think I’d enjoy myself for even a second. I mean, a lake house full of people I’d known since I was seven two months before a war that could leave us all dead? I wasn’t crazy for thinking this wouldn’t work. Then she had tricked me into believing Percy wouldn’t be coming, saying he had a dentist appointment. Knowing his infatuation with cookies, I had bought it up too. </p><p>However, from the minute I walked into the lake house, I had a feeling the day would be amazing. It was just the vibe that I was getting. Then, against all odds, Percy had shown up. Admittedly, I had been awkward around him initially. It also didn’t help that he had mentioned Rachel literally five minutes into our conversation. Who does that? Did he not see how much I liked him? Could he not tell that I didn’t like it when he spent all his free time with his mortal friend, who clearly had a crush on him?</p><p>I had tried maintaining my distance from him. After all, all we did was yell at each other anyways and I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s mood by trying to break up an inevitable fight between us. But that idiot seaweed brain wouldn’t leave me alone. I was trying to get out of swimming in the lake but he latched onto my hand and wouldn’t let go until I jumped into the water with him. Then I purposely joined Clarisse’s team, knowing Percy would never join her team. Unfortunately, since we were on opposing teams, he took that opportunity to block my every move. Since he was a son of Poseidon, he had an obvious advantage in the water, but I didn’t let that stop me. I somehow managed to dunk him, gripping his shoulders and wrapping my legs around his stomach. With my added weight, I pushed him into the water and barely managed to make him stay there. In the end, Clarisse’s team won, solely because I had beat Percy. I still wasn’t sure how that had happened. Had Percy let me hold him down? Had he gotten distracted with my body wrapped around his, ultimately leading him to lose focus? Because I knew I had.</p><p>“Annabeth, can you do me a favor?” I snapped out of my thoughts, giving my attention to Silena. She was staring expectantly at me. She was holding a plastic birthday knife in one hand, which was covered in chocolate cake. I realized I had missed the entire cake-cutting process. </p><p>“Ugh, yeah. What’s up?” </p><p>“Can you gather everyone into the living room? We’re going to play a game, so I want everyone to sit in a circle.” I nodded my head and walked out the door onto the porch, where everyone was eating cake. </p><p>“Hey! Can everyone please move into the living room! Make a circle, we’re playing a game.” I moved aside so my friends could walk past me. I noticed Travis and Katie were holding hands, making me smile. It was about time those two got together. Now if only my situation would improve..</p><p>“Hey Wise girl!” Percy sauntered towards me. His hair was still wet from our swim, but he had thankfully put on a shirt. I didn’t want to get caught staring at his chest, although I’m sure more than a couple people had noticed. After all, the Aphrodite girls watched me like a hawk whenever I was around Percy.</p><p>I almost blushed, thinking about how just a half an hour ago I had basically wrapped myself around him, that too, almost naked. Where had that confidence come from? More importantly, where was it now? I could barely maintain eye contact with him. Gods, I needed to get a grip.</p><p>Percy seemed to notice something change in me, because his goofy smile was replaced with a concerned expression. “Is everything okay? If you want, I can-“</p><p>“Everything’s fine. I’m just a little nervous. Don’t know what Silena has up her sleeve. We both know how crazy her games can get.” Percy glanced at me doubtfully, like he wasn’t buying a word I was saying. This time I grabbed his hand, yanking him towards the living room. “Come on! We don’t want to miss anything.”</p><p>We perched down next to each other. Our friends had surprisingly listened to me, forming a circle and leaving space for Percy, Silena and I. Once everyone was settled, Silena explained what we would be playing. “Truth or Dare.”</p><p>Clarisse leaned forward, a scowl on her face. “You were being secretive over truth or dare? God, that games for babies.”</p><p>“Is someone worried we’ll find out all their secrets?” Travis joked from where he was sitting beside Katie, who rolled her eyes at him.</p><p>“Or are you scared we’ll dare you to do something you won’t be able to do?” Connor asked.</p><p>Clarisse looked like she was going to punch both of them, but Chris Rodriguez put his hand on her thigh, shooting her a look. “Punk.” She spat at the twins, before turning back to Silena, who was waiting patiently.  </p><p>“Okay. So I’m going to begin since its my birthday.” She turned to her boyfriend, Charles Beckendorf. “Charlie, truth or dare?”</p><p>Beckendorf thought for a second. “Dare.”</p><p>Silena grinned at him. “Kiss me.” Beckendorf happily complied, causing the rest of us to groan.</p><p>“Is this the only reason were playing this game? So that you two can make out?” Katie asked after the two had separated.</p><p>Silena winked at her. “Bet you wished you had thought of that. Okay Charlie, you have to ask someone.”</p><p>Beckendorf sighed, looking around the circle. His eyes stopped at Travis. “Travs, truth or dare?”</p><p>Travis didn’t even hesitate. “Dare. Dude, I’m the biggest risk taker here.” He said confidently.</p><p>“Keep telling yourself that.” Percy muttered from beside me. I smiled at him, surprised to find him already staring at me. I looked away, feeling a blush creep up on my cheeks. Gods, why did this kid have this effect on me?</p><p>By the time I had started focusing on the game again; Travis had already finished his dare. I had no idea what it was, but I’m assuming it had something to do Katie judging by her rosy red cheeks.</p><p>“Alright Drew, you’re up. Truth or dare?”</p><p>Drew smiled at him, though it didn’t quite meet her eyes. I wasn’t exactly fond of Drew, considering she was one of the meanest girls I had ever met at camp. It was hard to believe she and Silena were sisters, considering they were nothing alike. </p><p>“Truth.”</p><p>Travis tapped his chin, thinking of a good truth to ask her. “Name a guy you haven’t kissed but would like to?” That was an interesting question. Drew was considered a serial dater at camp, hooking up with random boys and breaking their hearts afterward. There were very few boys she hadn’t kissed.</p><p>Drew rolled her eyes at him. “I think I’ve gone out with all of them.”</p><p>“Come on, there must be someone!” Connor piped up.</p><p>Drew thought for a moment, her eyes scanning some of the guys in the circle. She gazed at me for a second longer than I would have appreciated, and I could tell what she was about to do.</p><p>“Percy. I’d love to go out with him.” Drew shot me a nasty smile. I could feel all eyes on me and Percy. Percy squirmed next to me, obviously uncomfortable. He wasn’t Drew’s biggest fan either and even though he was awfully oblivious at times, I could tell he knew that Drew had said it on purpose. She didn’t genuinely like him, she just wanted to get a rise out of us.</p><p>“That sucks for you Drew, because Percy’s already taken.” Silena said slyly, shooting Annabeth a quick smile.</p><p>Drew raised her eyebrow, feigning ignorance. “Really? I had no idea!” She turned to Percy, who still looked shocked. “So, who’s the lucky girl?” She leaned forward, her hair falling in waves across her shoulder an her cleavage in full display; her way of trying to look seductive. It made me want to gag.</p><p>Percy gulped, his face bright red. His eyes darted towards mine before looking back to Drew. “Ugh, were still kind of getting there. I don’t think she knows about it.”</p><p>Drew narrowed her eyes at him, clearly unimpressed. “Huh.”  She said. “So you don’t have a girlfriend?”</p><p>“No, it’s more like a crush.” I looked over at him, surprised. Percy just admitted to crushing on someone in front of everyone. </p><p>“If that’s the case, then I’ll let you be. But just so you know, if it doesn’t work out, I’m available.” She winked at him and I could feel my stomach recoil. That girl was getting on my last nerve. But I forced myself to keep my expressions under lock and key. The last thing I wanted for Drew to think she’d got to me.</p><p> I could feel my heart beat pick up pace. Could it be possible that Percy liked me? Was that too much to ask for? I sighed loudly and immediately covered my mouth. Percy glanced at me but quickly looked away, his face still red from his confession.</p><p>After that, I didn’t really pay much attention to the game, mostly just thinking about Percy and who he was crushing on. There was a huge possibility he just played along with Silena, just to get Drew off his back. But this was Percy; the guy wasn’t the best when it came to feelings. Also, there had been a ring of honesty in his voice when he said he liked someone.</p><p>“Percy, truth or dare?” </p><p>I jerked my head up in the sound of the voice. It was Lucy, another one of Silena’s half sisters. Only Lucy was much sweeter and nicer than some of the other Aphrodite girls. She was also only twelve years old.</p><p>Percy thought for a moment. “I’m going to go with dare.”</p><p> Lucy pouted, looking quite adorable. “I was hoping you’d say truth.”</p><p>Percy cracked a smile at her. “For you, I’ll say it. Truth it is.” Lucy squealed, clearly pleased.</p><p>“Okay, you just have to answer one question. I’ve heard so many rumors and I just wanted you to either confirm or deny them.”</p><p>Percy’s face didn’t look nearly as relaxed as it had been a few seconds ago, which made sense. In a place like Camp Half Blood, campers thrived on rumors. No doubt several of them were about Percy, some even concerning me. I was curious to know what Lucy wanted to know.</p><p>“What rumor are you referring to?” Percy asked carefully.</p><p>Lucy rubbed her shoulder a little. “The one about last summer. You know the labyrinth-.”</p><p>Clarisse leaned forward. “Lucy, maybe you want to change the question-“</p><p>Chris put his hand on her thigh. “It’s ok Clarisse. Let her ask.” Clarisse looked at her boyfriend warily. Chris had almost been driven mad in the labyrinth, no wonder Clarisse didn’t want to hear about it.</p><p>“As I was saying, Annabeth returned from the labyrinth whereas you were missing for two weeks. There was a lot of speculation as to where you were.” Percy inhaled sharply, as if he knew what she was about to ask. I could feel the question coming too, feeling the weight of it suddenly crush on my shoulder. Percy hadn’t ever told me exactly what had happened after he blew up Mount Saint Helens, though I had my suspicions.</p><p>“So are the rumors true.” Lucy continued, her voice as innocent as ever. “Did you really go to Calypso’s island?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! If you like the story, drop a review!<br/>Also, thank you so much to everyone who has left kudos! It means a lot to me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Revelations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Percy’s POV</p><p>“So are the rumors true.” Lucy continued, her voice as innocent as ever. “Did you really go to Calypso’s island?”</p><p>I had not seen that coming. When Lucy had first brought up the labyrinth and the rumors circulating around it, I had thought she had somehow found out about Annabeth kissing me on Mount Saint Helens. That would have been super awkward considering the two of us had never talked about it. Speaking about it in front of all our friends would be like a nightmare.</p><p>Unfortunately, Lucy decided to bring up Calypso, which was almost as terrifying. Honestly, I still felt a little guilty whenever I thought about her. And no! That didn’t mean I was thinking about her, she’d just cross my mind from time to time and I’d just recall some of the moments we had spent together. </p><p>Anyways, Calypso had healed me and taken care of me for two weeks, whereas I had broken her heart and left her on her island alone. What made me feel even worse was that I would never be able to make up for it, considering I would never see her again.</p><p>All of these thoughts were swirling in my mind as I pondered over what to say to Lucy. I glanced over at Annabeth, whose face had slightly paled and was avoiding eye contact with me. She had moved her knees too, so that they were no longer brushing mine. I tried not to feel too disappointed by that, after all having a jolt of electricity shoot through me every time we touched wasn’t exactly comforting.</p><p>I wondered if Annabeth had figured out that I had spent time with Calypso on her island. Knowing how brilliant she was, I’m sure she had. However, that didn’t mean I wanted her suspicions to be confirmed. She had been super worried about me the whole time I had been gone, thinking I was dead. Knowing I had been marooned on an island with a girl didn’t make me look like such a great person. On the other hand, it’s not like I voluntarily went there. And I did come back! That had to count for something, right?</p><p>I cleared my throat, hoping my face wasn’t turning scarlet. “I, ugh yeah. I landed up on Calypso’s island, somehow. She helped heal me until I was strong enough to come home.” I heard a few gasps and my friends started muttering amongst themselves. I risked a glance at Annabeth, who was staring at her hands, her eyes a thousand miles away.</p><p>Lucy looked ecstatic. “Oh my Gods that is so romantic!” I couldn’t help but notice Annabeth flinch, as if someone had hit her in the back. “You have to tell us more, please Percy.” She looked up at me with these cute puppy dog eyes that I knew I couldn’t say no to. I wondered if she was using her ‘Daughter of Aphrodite’ powers on me.</p><p>“What do you want to know?” I asked warily. I wasn’t quite sure if I was ready to talk about it; after all I had never out right talked about my time on Calypso’s island before. </p><p>“Is Calypso beautiful?” Lucy asked dreamily. </p><p>I scratched the back of my head, not knowing what to say. Yeah, she was gorgeous but looks didn’t matter that much to me. Also, I thought someone else was much prettier than her.</p><p>“She’s , ugh.. She’s nice looking.” I managed, glancing over at Annabeth again. She still had her gaze set on her hands, though her shoulders were now tense. Her ears were bright red. </p><p>“What did you two do there?” A girl I didn’t recognize asked me. I figured she was one of Silena’s half siblings. </p><p>“I pretty much did nothing besides resting.” I joked. A few of the girls tittered; unfortunately Annabeth wasn’t one of them. She refused to even look in my direction. “Calypso would feed me, sing to the birds, and cook food. She had imaginary servants working for her. It was pretty cool.”</p><p>“Did you kiss her?” Lucy asked. </p><p>“What? No!” I exclaimed. This was starting to feel more like an interrogation than a truth or dare game. And wasn’t I only supposed to answer one question? Before I could argue, Lucy came up with another question.</p><p>“Did you fall in love with her?”</p><p>Before I could even open my mouth to answer, Annabeth sprung up from where she had been sitting beside me and hurried out of the room. I watched her go, feeling my heart being ripped into shreds with each step she took.</p><p>Silena shot Lucy a look. “I think that’s enough. Gods, what is with you and all that Calypso shit?”</p><p>Lucy hung her head, looking guilty. “I’m sorry. I’ve just really been curious about her. I wanted to know all about her.”</p><p>Silena shook her head. “I’m going to go check on Annabeth. The rest of you can carry on with the game.” She got up and walked in the direction Annabeth had gone. </p><p>It took me maybe a few seconds for me to come to my senses and decide I needed to go talk to Annabeth. I wasn’t completely sure what was going on with her, but I had a feeling it was my story about Calypso that had caused her to get upset and walk away. I quickly got up, ignored all the looks I was getting and trailed after Silena.</p><p>I walked around the lake, the cool breeze causing me to get goose bumps over my forearms. I rubbed my hands together and made my way towards the docks. I noticed two figures sitting there, one of them had their face in their hands. </p><p>As I moved closer, I could faintly make out what they were saying.</p><p>“-come back inside. It’s cold out here!” Silena said, her arms wrapped around her chest.</p><p>Annabeth looked up from her hands. “I can’t.” Her voice sounded wobbly. “I knew coming here would be a bad idea. I just can’t face-“ And then she saw me. Her face, which looked like she had been crying, blanched. Silena looked up too, noticing the change in her friend. When she saw me, she gave me a tired smile, before looking back at Annabeth.</p><p>“I’m going back inside. Make sure nobody broke anything.” She got up and walked past me, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and then she was gone, leaving just Annabeth and I.</p><p>I walked the rest of the distance between us until I was right next to her. I settled down on the wooden floor besides her. </p><p>“Hey.” I whispered softly, leaning forward a little. The sky had gotten pretty dark but I could still see her pretty face.</p><p>Annabeth gazed up at me, her grey eyes tinged red. Her cheeks were flushed, giving them a rosy shade. “Hi.” </p><p>“Are you okay?” I asked her, not knowing what else to say. </p><p>Annabeth sniffled, wiping her nose with her hand. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She looked away from me, instead looking out at the lake. I tried to follow her gaze but I felt my eyes lingering at her face. There was just something about it that made me want to never look away. </p><p>We stayed silent for a minute or two, before Annabeth spoke up, her eyes never leaving the lake. “Why did you leave?”</p><p>“What?” I asked stupidly, wondering what she was talking about. She turned to look at me, her eyes watering slightly.</p><p>“Why’d you come back from Calypso’s island? You could have avoided the prophecy, the fight with Kronos.” She heaved a sigh, her voice cracking. “You could have lived a perfect life with her. Why would you give all that up?” A tear slipped down her cheek and it took all of my self control not to reach out and brush it away. </p><p>I looked into her eyes, feeling something stir inside my stomach. “Annabeth, I could never have stayed there. To be honest, I was tempted to, but deep down, I couldn’t. It just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t let Nico or someone else suffer from the burden of the prophecy.”</p><p> Annabeth nodded her head, her eyes never leaving mine. A few more tears made their way down her face, and this time, I couldn’t help myself. I reached over and brushed the tears away with my thumb, slowly caressing her cheek. When I removed my hand from her face, she latched onto it, gently holding my hand. I couldn’t help but notice how right this felt.</p><p>“Is that the only reason? Because you couldn’t let someone else take over the prophecy?” She looked up at me, her eyes shining again, waiting for me to say something.</p><p>I shook my head, running a hand through my hair. “No.” I said quietly. “I couldn’t leave.. I couldn’t leave my mom or Grover or..” Annabeth frowned, her hand slipping out from my grasp. She stared off into the lake, making me feel like crap all over again. I had to say it, or else I’d lose her.</p><p>“I couldn’t leave you!” I blurted out. Annabeth whipped her head around, startled by my outburst. I hurried to explain myself. “You’re my best friend Annabeth. I couldn’t just abandon you like that, not when you thought I was dead and…” I trailed off, not knowing what else to say. </p><p>Annabeth still looked sort of disappointed. “You’re my best friend too.” She whispered, though her voice sounded strange, like she was forcing out the words. This time, I reached for her hand. Holding it made me feel like I was anchored to the world; as long as she was with me, nothing bad would happen.</p><p>“What were you saying to Silena earlier? That you didn’t want to come to the party?..” I hoped I had heard wrong. The fact that she didn’t want to be here, especially near me, hurt more than I was willing to admit. </p><p>Annabeth rubbed her thumb along my hand, sending small shivers down my arm. I prayed she didn’t notice. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was up for a party. I know we all needed this break, but with everything going on, I didn’t think I’d be able to get into the party mode.”</p><p>“You looked like you were having fun earlier. When we were swimming in the lake.”I wasn’t sure because of the dark, but I had a feeling Annabeth’s face reddened.</p><p>She shrugged. “I suppose I did. I just, I don’t know if I can just forget the fact that there will be a war in two months. I know everyone has their own way of coping with stress, but I tend to dwell on things. It’s hard for me to relax sometimes.” She sighed, her hand tightening the grip on mine. She leaned on me, so that our shoulders were touching too.</p><p>“It doesn’t hurt to try though.” I said quietly. Her hair was brushing my forearm and I was hyperaware of the effect it had on my pulse rate.</p><p>She looked up at me, her face only a few inches away from mine. “Yeah, it doesn’t.”</p><p>I cleared my throat, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up on my cheeks. “You know, I was.. ugh.. really excited to see you, today. Like, it’s been a long time since we.. um. talked.”</p><p>Annabeth gazed up at me, a small smile playing on her lips.”Hmm.”</p><p>“So, what I’m trying to say is, I’m really glad you came to the party.” Annabeth grinned at me, flashing me her perfect smile.</p><p>“So am I.” She shifted her face so that we were nearly face to face. I could see the freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. </p><p>I don’t know what I was going to do after that, but when Travis showed up a few seconds later, telling us we needed to come back inside, I knew I was highly disappointed. </p><p>I got up, helping Annabeth to her feet. We both seemed to realize we were still holding hands because we both let go at the same time. “Ugh.. we should get going then.” I said awkwardly, watching as Annabeth ducked her head and started walking towards the cabin.</p><p>I wandered after her, lost in my thoughts. When I had left Calypso in Ogygia, I had regarded her as my biggest ‘what if’. But sometimes, I saw myself replaying moments with Annabeth, like the one we just had and I always came to the same conclusion: Calypso stands nowhere near Annabeth.</p><p>With that thought, I followed her back into the cabin, wondering what Silena had in store for us next.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm thinking of writing a fanfiction about how the camp rule of 'no boy and girl are allowed in a cabin alone' came about. If you think its a good idea, let me know. Thanks for all the support!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>